Starting with DEI and Ethics - A New First-Year College Computer Science Introduction

Early exposure to ethical reasoning and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) concepts is critical for preparing socially responsible computer scientists. To support this goal, we designed and implemented a required non-programming first-year undergraduate computer science course that is taken concurrently with an introductory programming course. This discussion-based course integrates DEI and ethics as foundational themes. The new course adopts a breadth-first structure delivered over a 10-week quarter, with 5 of the 18 sessions focused on DEI and ethics. Over three consecutive academic years, we collected pre- and post-course survey data from 451 students enrolled in the new course. Results show an increase in student’s recognition of the importance of DEI and ethics and a substantial increase in understanding how these dimensions intersect with technical practice. In this experience report, we describe the course design, instructional methods, and survey instruments; present key findings; and reflect on lessons learned. This work contributes a model for embedding DEI and ethics into the early undergraduate computing curriculum.